Preparing the Way

About Us

We are a small consultancy of professionals committed to addressing the risks imposed by climate change and securing human development, particularly in Africa. "Kulima" is a word found in many Nguni languages which refers to "preparing the ground so that something can take root" – that is, a period of preparation that takes place before seeds can be planted, without which their chances of germinating and growing are very small. We chose this as our company name as it embodies our vision: we aim to provide high quality technical inputs, and capacity building at the early stages of projects, programmes and other processes, so that a situation is enabled where they can flourish and bring about sustainable development.

Our expertise is centred around climate change adaptation, and includes the related fields of vulnerability, climate finance, and disaster risk reduction. We are also committed to taking gender-sensitive approaches to our assignments. Common projects that we undertake include vulnerability assessments (at a variety of scales using various methods as appropriate to the context) and proposing adaptation options – for both policy and practice. Between us we have many years or experience in Africa, and are well aware of the limited success of imposing solutions from outside. We are committed to a complete understanding of institutional and policy context, and undertaking stakeholder consultation processes to ensure that proposed solutions are owned by the appropriate stakeholders to ensure their continued success. Ongoing training and capacity building is another of our strengths.

Dr Katharine Vincent is the director of Kulima. Her expertise is in the social dimensions of climate change especially vulnerability, adaptation and institutions and governance. Kulima's geographical focus is on southern and eastern Africa, but we have experience across the continent and internationally.